01-23-2009, 02:50 PM
Michael, only ten seconds ago I turned on the lights in the layout room in order to take some pictures of.....Proto2000 stock cars. 
While the lights warm up, I thought I'd check out the new posts.
I haven't seen anyone else replacing those over-size grab irons, although I have seen some complaints about installing the plastic ones, either because they break so easily or because they slip out of the tweezers, flying off never to be seen again. I'm sure, though, that I'm not the only one doing this. The nice thing about the Proto cars is that the grabirons are cast in styrene, like the rest of the car. Some manufacturers use Delrin or similar engineering plastics for this type of detail, and there's not much that will glue these plastics satisfactorily. If you wish to convert these cars to wire grabs, first install the plastic ones, using a suitable solvent cement. After the joint has fully hardened, usually 24 hours, use an appropriate blade to cut away all of the plastic grab except the bolt head detail. Next, using a suitable bit in your pin vise, drill holes for the new wire grabirons - locate them immediately below the bolt heads. You can make your own grabs from wire or use commercially available ones, such as those from Tichy, Westerfield, or A-Line. I use .012" brass or stainless steel wire when making my own - in HO, this scales out to just slightly over 1" in diameter. I used Tichy drop-style grabirons on my three cars, and also on the other two cars which I re-built. Any straight grabs were formed from brass wire, as were new roofwalk corner grabs.
When installing the new wire grabs, I like to make them long enough to extend through the side of the car, then, with a styrene spacer to keep them the proper distance from the car side, I bend-over the protruding wire and apply some ca on the inside of the car. Be sure to remove the spacer before applying the ca.
At the car corners, where grabs on the ends line up with those on the side, you can either drill the adjacent holes on an angle (one up, the other down) or shorten one leg of one grab of every pair. This can be easily done, using an old X-Acto blade and working on a sheet of glass or other hard surface. While holding the grabiron, position the heel of the blade (not the tip, as it can easily break-off) where you want to cut and press down firmly on the knife handle. This will snick-off the excess length when working with small-diameter brass, phosphor-bronze or stainless steel wire. If you're using music wire for grabs, a cut-off disk in your Dremel is a better option.
And don't despair if, when you're done, the grabs "look crooked": using smooth-jawed pliers, with the handles parallel to the car's side, simply grasp the offending grab lightly and move the handle up or down as much as is required.
I'll post some pictures of my cars, although I didn't take any "in-progress" shots. The conversion can be a bit time-consuming, but it's certainly not difficult, and the results, in my opinion, are well worth the extra time.
Wayne
While the lights warm up, I thought I'd check out the new posts. I haven't seen anyone else replacing those over-size grab irons, although I have seen some complaints about installing the plastic ones, either because they break so easily or because they slip out of the tweezers, flying off never to be seen again. I'm sure, though, that I'm not the only one doing this. The nice thing about the Proto cars is that the grabirons are cast in styrene, like the rest of the car. Some manufacturers use Delrin or similar engineering plastics for this type of detail, and there's not much that will glue these plastics satisfactorily. If you wish to convert these cars to wire grabs, first install the plastic ones, using a suitable solvent cement. After the joint has fully hardened, usually 24 hours, use an appropriate blade to cut away all of the plastic grab except the bolt head detail. Next, using a suitable bit in your pin vise, drill holes for the new wire grabirons - locate them immediately below the bolt heads. You can make your own grabs from wire or use commercially available ones, such as those from Tichy, Westerfield, or A-Line. I use .012" brass or stainless steel wire when making my own - in HO, this scales out to just slightly over 1" in diameter. I used Tichy drop-style grabirons on my three cars, and also on the other two cars which I re-built. Any straight grabs were formed from brass wire, as were new roofwalk corner grabs.
When installing the new wire grabs, I like to make them long enough to extend through the side of the car, then, with a styrene spacer to keep them the proper distance from the car side, I bend-over the protruding wire and apply some ca on the inside of the car. Be sure to remove the spacer before applying the ca.
At the car corners, where grabs on the ends line up with those on the side, you can either drill the adjacent holes on an angle (one up, the other down) or shorten one leg of one grab of every pair. This can be easily done, using an old X-Acto blade and working on a sheet of glass or other hard surface. While holding the grabiron, position the heel of the blade (not the tip, as it can easily break-off) where you want to cut and press down firmly on the knife handle. This will snick-off the excess length when working with small-diameter brass, phosphor-bronze or stainless steel wire. If you're using music wire for grabs, a cut-off disk in your Dremel is a better option.
And don't despair if, when you're done, the grabs "look crooked": using smooth-jawed pliers, with the handles parallel to the car's side, simply grasp the offending grab lightly and move the handle up or down as much as is required.
I'll post some pictures of my cars, although I didn't take any "in-progress" shots. The conversion can be a bit time-consuming, but it's certainly not difficult, and the results, in my opinion, are well worth the extra time.
Wayne